Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope your Christmas was as pleasant as mine.

We started off Christmas morning by finding Liz on the sofa watching tv, sulking! So JD, Jeremiah's baby brother from UT, explained to us why she was sulking. Apparently, the conversation went something like this:

JD: Good morning Lizasaurus! Are you having a good Christmas so far?
Liz: Not anymore. Then she pointed to the tree.

There weren't any presents under the tree.

JD: Well, maybe Santa got drunk and put the gifts in the wrong room. Maybe he got tired or something. I'm sure your presents are somewhere in the house.

In the meantime, Jeremiah and I surfaced with the gifts. I explained to Liz that we kept the gifts in our room so that Scarlett wouldn't get into them. Not a day went by that Liz didn't make a comment over the state of the house b/c of Scarlett's destruction! After I reminded her how Scarlett gets into everything, she got embarrassed because she couldn't believe that she thought that we didn't get her presents. I didn't tell Liz the presents were in our room because I didn't want her asking me about them everyday.

Here's Liz embarrassed.

Jeremiah showing me how much money I could've saved if I didn't buy him anything. After getting a short lecture on "I told you not to get me anything", he was grateful...whew! Don't feel bad for me. I HAD to get him something after I treated myself to Ann Taylor, Dillards, and Banana Republic :o)

Don't worry, it's grape juice and apple cider. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if I drove him to drink one day!

Scarlett got so excited! She FINALLY got to destroy something without me saying NO! NO! She cracks me up!

Liz is much happier! I have to admit, I was slightly aggravated that she was sooo sad when she thought that she didn't get ANYTHING! She knows Christmas isn't about the presents...I think :o(

I love my baby girl! I have no idea what she is was looking at. Probably her next victim!

I guess she thought that she could eat her way into her gift.

When Scarlett got bored trying to open one of her gifts, she headed for the tree!

Later in the evening, my parents and siblings came over. Here's my mom trying to help Scarlett open the gift that she got for Scarlett.

Looking back, Christmas was pretty nice this year. Dinner was at my house and there was a ton of good food and good company! We ended the night by watching "Hang 'Em High" with Clint Eastwood. Appropriate for Christmas, probably not. But, we watched it as a family and spending time with family on Christmas is appropriate. Don't worry, Liz was in her room burried in a book that she got for Christmas.

That's it for now. I'll see y'all after the new year! Have a good one!!!

4th Grade Christmas

It's late, I'm tired, and I'm not very talkative. So, this post will be short on verbiage. Liz's school had their Christmas program on 12/17. Below are two videos of my favorite moments. She's wearing a yellow t-shirt and the colorful scarf.

This was the cutest song and I was singing it for the rest of the day.



She was selected to sing the solo for Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree. She did well and I was so proud of her!

12/18 was the 4th grade Christmas party. I volunteered (as usual) and ended up spending quite a bit of time with Liz. I ate lunch with her and her friends and it was hysterical. These little girls had alot to say! 1st, they gave me the "411" on EVERYONE! Then, one girl said "you're thinner than my mom". Another girl said "you look 20". One girl dubbed me a "cool mom". They were so funny and they had me rolling!!! Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Here's Liz playing Santa Says. She's trying to pat her head and rub her belly at the same time.

Here she is celebrating because she won! The final challenge: "Santa says pick your nose!" And she did it! No one else would pick their nose except her. I didn't think she would pick her nose but she did!

Yes, the gym is really painted lime green. Here's the principal and Scarlett. They LOVE each other!

Here's Liz's teacher and Scarlett. They love each other too!

Ornament relay...over the head and then between the legs. I have no idea who won because I was refereeing a couple of boys.

Racing on wood skis.

At the finish line and then she falls! Only Liz!!! I was taking this picture thinking that she was about to cross the finish line and then she falls, ugh!

There was a little time before the classes had to rotate to the next activity so Liz made another lap.

Santa sack race.

Going back.

Then they had to scoot.

Going back.


Instead of playing musical chairs, the kids played musical dots. When the music stops, the kids had to find a rubber dot to step on. Judging by Liz's face, can you tell that she didn't find a dot to step on? She was out early in the game. I think she was the 3rd to get out...out of 20 something kids. We tell her all the time to pay attention. Don't feel too bad for her. She cheered up when she realized that she could leave school extra early because a parent volunteered at the party :o)

Off to my next Prickett adventure...

Scarlett vs.

Remember "Shaq vs." that came on ABC over the summer? Well, this is my version of it featuring Scarlett. So, sit back, relax and take pleasure in Scarlett tearing up my house!

Scarlett vs. The Snow

Scarlett won. Look at her trying to crawl away after I busted her tearing up the snow on the fireplace!

Scarlett vs. The Snow IIMommy won this time. I caught her after she pulled the snowman off the fireplace but before she could destroy the snow again.

Scarlett vs. The Snowman

Scarlett won.

Scarlett vs. Christmas

Scarlett won. Did you notice the skirt missing underneath the tree?! How can one baby be SO destructive?! She just laughs and laughs!

Then one day...

...she was playing behind the silk plant and was trying to pull up on it. Want to know what happened? Keep reading.

Scarlett vs. The Silk Tree Scarlett won this one too. Did she cry? Nooooo! She just laughed and laughed!

Seriously?! Are there no limits to what she will destroy?! Is there anything that she is afraid to get into?! The girl is a tank! When she's not destroying my house, she really is a sweet baby and I love her to death :o)

In other news...

Last Sunday we went to the nativity at church. As tradition would have it, we took our annual family nativity photo just for my mother. Amazingly, everyone pretty much behaved themselves. As tradition would also have it, something had to go wrong. My brother had to work so he wasn't in the picture this year :o( Oh well mommy, maybe next year.

Our ward Christmas party was Friday night and Scarlett took a picture with Santa!

The Green Missionary Gets A Green Meal

Over the summer Aubrey, a friend of mine, made a "green meal" for a brand new missionary in their ward. When I saw her "green meal" posted on her blog, I fell in love with the idea! In fact, I couldn't wait until we got our own green missionary so that I could prepare a green meal too! It was so much fun and I think everyone had a good time. Enjoy the pics!

Here's the green macaroni for the homemade macaroni & cheese. I added food coloring to the water before it started boiling.

Time to eat! We had green everything...macaroni & cheese, cornbread, fruit salad, pot roast, and lemon lime drink. If there was a way that I could've died the pot roast green, I would have!

Here he is...the man of the hour...our green missionary...with all of his green food...straight from the MTC...
ELDER BROWN!

Doesn't this look yummy?! I have to be honest, for a second I had to sike myself up to actually eat this! It all tasted good and everyone went back for seconds. I wanted the food to "pop" so we ate off of white plates instead of green plates.

We had cake for dessert and all of us devoured it! Obviously, I had to die it green too. It was sooooo good. I was quite impressed with myself. This was the only piece left. Liz and I finished it off Saturday.

The green cornbread.

By the end of the meal I think Elder Brown really appreciated the sentiment. I gave them pictures so that they could always remember the green meal! These are the memories that missions are made of, right?!

Last week the missionaries stopped by to do a little caroling and dropped off a loaf of homemade bread. It was a nice surpise and we were so excited! I love this time of year!!!

Aubrey, thanks again for your green meal post that inspired me to prepare a green meal of my own. It was a cool idea and so much fun!

Ready For Christmas!

This year, J had the day before Thanksgiving off but had to work the day after Thanksgiving. You know what that means…I had to put up Christmas 2 days earlier this year, yay! Usually, I decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Lucky me, J had to work after Thanksgiving so I had to put Christmas up before Thanksgiving. Otherwise, who knows when it would have been done. As y’all know, time FLIES this time of year! Once again, I sent J into the attic to retrieve Christmas. Without further ado, let's dive into another Prickett holiday season!!!

I love you too! Here is Mr. Man bringing in our new tree! Last year, I expressed to Jeremiah that we needed a larger tree that will look more proportionate to our new living room. After all of the Christmas sales started last year, we found this 7.5ft tree on display for $235 at Target. They were slashing the prices on all of the Christmas trees that were on display and we only paid $35 for it!

My little elf! So far, she is enjoying Christmas as much as I am. I'm glad that she got her momma's Christmas genes!!!

Scarlett is pulling up on everything and anything. If she can pull herself up and walk to where she wants to go, she will. I won't be surprised if she is walking before her 1st birthday. Anyway, I had to keep my hearth very child friendly this year. It is down to the bare minimum just for Scarlett. She can continue to pull up on it and I get to rest easy knowing that she can't break anything...and attempt to eat glass!

Checking out the penguin! It is so cool because it has lights, it snows and it plays Christmas carols. I think Scarlett is trying to figure it all out.

For some reason, Scarlett is not interested in pulling on the Christmas tree. She is all about the snow. The snow blanket under the tree AND the snow blanket on the fireplace. She eats it, tears it, and plays with it! What's with the snow?!

Our new tree with all of the trimmings! I thought I would never get finish decorating and trimming it.

Black Friday! We survived!!! Believe it or not, we didn't do too much. Jeremiah was pleased about that I'm sure.

I'm sure this mantle will change 2 or 3 more times before Christmas. If y'all see some great garland and a wreath for a great price, let me know. You can't really tell but all of the plush decorations are on the hearth for Scarlett's enjoyment.

I am so glad that Scarlett is a happy baby! We took this after church yesterday.

Here's to a great Christmas this year!

By the way, Thanksgiving was fine. We visited Jeremiah's family and then it was off to my parents house. Like always, I ate way too much. Regina, I took a few bites for you just like I said I would :o)

As usual, I'm grateful for my dear sweet husband Jeremiah. I'm grateful that he has a job to provide for us financially. I'm grateful for Scarlett and Elizabeth and all of the joy that they bring to Jeremiah and I. I'm especially grateful that the good Lord was so merciful and blessed us with Scarlett's sweet spirit. I'm grateful for my parents and my siblings. I'm grateful for my house. I'm grateful for the groceries that we have. I'm grateful that I get to stay home and be with the girls. I'm grateful that Jeremiah and I have reliable transportation. I'm grateful for our health. Most of all, I'm grateful that we live in a country where I can love and serve God freely.

I understand that all my blessings can easily be gone in an instant. But for now, I'll show my appreciation for my blessings by taking care of what I have. Whatever the Lord's will is for us, I will graciously accept it. At the moment, life is good and I am so grateful for that :o)

$1.31

Lately, there hasn't been a lot happening in the Prickett camp. As a result, I haven't had anything to blog about...until now.

When we moved into our house last year, we selected Reliant Energy as our provider. At the time, we went with them b/c they had the cheapest rate on the market. About 4 weeks ago, someone from TXU knocked on the door and they wanted us to return to TXU. TXU is currently cheaper than Reliant Energy...so we switched back to TXU.

Last week, we got our "final" electric bill from Reliant Energy. $455!!!!! What?! Did an intern make a mistake?! Did someone misread the meter?! Maybe our address was inverted with someone else?! Do they have me confused with another Gwen Prickett?! Because THIS Gwen Prickett, the one that y'all know and love, was NOT about to pay one cent of THAT bill until someone from Reliant Energy explained how in the world our electric bill could be $455!!!!!

After 90 minutes of venting out loud to Reliant and TXU, I got some answers. When we moved and switched to Reliant last year, we committed to a 24 month contract. I thought we were on a 12-month or a 18-month contract. Because our 24 months were not up, we were charged a $295 cancellation fee when we switched from Reliant to TXU. In the meantime, TXU has a $200 cancellation fee. After pleading my case, TXU was kind enough to let us out of our new contract without paying a cancellation fee. Not only that, Reliant welcomed us back with open arms, yay! As a bonus, Reliant also waived the cancellation fee, double yay!!! Jeremiah's wallet could breathe again :o)

After the dust had settled and I retracted my claws, Elizabeth surfaced. She came to me with a bag of her personal money. She said she wanted to give it to me to help pay the electric bill because she didn't want the electricity to be turned off. When I counted her money out, it was a whopping $1.31! As if that would make a dent in $455! I told her that was very sweet of her to share her money on behalf of the family. I also told her that Heavenly Father is so proud of her for wanting to sacrifice something of hers for someone else's benefit :o)

She's a great kid and I'm glad that she's ours. But the next time she leaves a light on, I'm taking that $1.31 to put towards next months bill!

Carrots

Two months ago, we attempted to give Scarlett some rice for the very first time. The few times that she had it, she didn't love it but she didn't hate it either. Generally, she ate it without too much fuss. Now that she is almost 7 months, we are seriously trying to get her started on solid foods. Having said that, last night we attempted carrots on our first journey to solid foods! Let's see how it went shall we?

Before the storm...

...the storm...

...after the storm.

The carrots were definitely new for her. Surprisingly, the mess on her face was the only mess that she made. We'll continue to give her carrots for the next few days. Maybe we'll try fruit next week. Truth be told, we probably should have tried fruits first. Oh well. She didn't finish her carrots but she did okay for the first try. After a while, we decided to put her out of her misery and then she fell asleep :o)